We were delighted to attend the official launch of one of our projects, the Our Care Journal mobile app, at QUT earlier this week.
Our Care Journal is a mobile tool allowing carers to connect and share their practical, human and emotional experiences, all while they coordinate better-organised care.
The daily life of a carer can be exhausting!
In addition to the uncertainty of your loved one’s health and well-being, there is the relentless tedium of cooking, cleaning, washing, lifting, bathing, administering medications, scheduling and attending appointments, with the brief reprieve for grocery shopping (if you’re lucky enough to be able to leave the house).
There is so much information to convey to others and yet you can feel very much alone.
In 2016, Simon Lowe and Leonie Sanderson from The Ageing Revolution travelled around Australia collecting and listening to the stories of older Australians.
“We were expecting to hear lots of older people’s experiences of care and being cared for,” says Simon, “but we were surprised to find there are actually many other different constellations of care out there.
“Older Australians are often caregivers themselves, looking after grandchildren, friends or partners and many are feeling isolated and overwhelmed.
"We were keen to see how we could improve the lives of these carers and whether technology could be part of the solution. “
Together with Tara O’Connell from The Diary Apps, they came up with a practical way to address these problems by create a mobile app for carers to coordinate and manage the routine activities of caring, freeing up time for them to focus on the more important things in life.
Thus, Our Care Journal was born.
Care for the carers
Our Care Journal has been a collaborative project with The Ageing Revolution, The Diary Apps, QUT School of Design, MCCGC and eLearn Australia, with support from an Advancing Queensland: Age-Friendly Communities Grant in 2017-18.
Sarah Bock from eLearn Australia has been the lead developer on the Our Care Journal app.
“The work of carers has long been unacknowledged and this project highlights the enormous social and economic contributions carers make to our society,” says Sarah.
“The core feature of the app is a journaling and networking function that allows carers to more easily manage and share the burden of care.
“The app also enables carers to connect with others and access wellbeing resources and support networks.
“We’re excited to be involved in the project as it speaks to our values of supporting the work of marginalised groups in our community.”
Get in touch with us to start your mobile app development today.
